Developing teams with the GC Index

The Issue

NHS Supply Chain (SCCL) was transitioning to a new operating model, the result of a merger of five organisations into one. This presented a significant cultural shift for the resources that were tasked with leading the transition and embedding new and consistent ways of working. Senior leaders had the challenge of forming a united and functional team to lead the rest of the organisation through transformational change, while delivering an excellent customer experience, all against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic.

SCCL had previously utilised several psychometric tools with the Executive Team (as part of the transition plan) to enable the group to understand themselves and others, as well as how they could work cohesively and productively together. While the tools offered some benefit, they felt that they did not quite hit the mark in helping the team to understand the needs of others, how they could work better together and make an even more positive impact in their role. The group were left with a feeling of ‘So What?’.

They needed a tool to help the group develop one common language and make the team more cohesive and mindful of individual working styles as they co-designed the 10 year vision and strategy for the organisation.

How did we fix it?

The 4OC team of GCologists utilised the GC Index® to identify how team members were energised in their role, team and organisation. The GC Index® (Game-Changing Index) is a People and Organisation Assessment Tool that helps individuals identify their strengths when it comes to making an impact in the workplace and is used to inform their development. Having this valuable insight enables employers and management make informed decisions in relation to roles and how to create the right environment for them to thrive.

After the Executive Team of 10 undertook their GC Index® questionnaire and one-to-one profile review sessions to delve into and validate their profile, the results of the group indicated that they had a dominant energy for original thinking and pragmatism. This was brought to bear in the energy they collectively brought to direction, purpose and focus to action (Strategist proclivity) and rapidly completing tasks with a drive to move onto the next (Implementer proclivity).

With the individual and group proclivities identified, the GC Index® allowed the Executive Team to raise self-awareness of their strengths and energy for particular ways of working and engagement with others on a day-to-day basis, to achieve strategic aims and objectives.

The 4OC Magic

The Executive Team responded well and were enthusiastic about the process of engagement with the GC Index® and with the outcomes, especially when exploring team profiles.

The group realised, through this process, that they rarely stepped back and congratulated themselves or the organisation on a job well done. There was a culture of completing a task and immediately going “next!”. The GC Index® allowed the Executive Team to reflect on this working practice and realise that as strong Implementers and Strategists, they need to make time to celebrate their achievements, rather than immediately moving on to the next issue or activity.

One of the outputs that came from using the tool was that the team recognised that collectively they were not high-scoring “Game Changers” and lacked some of the creativity that comes from the Game-Changing energy. Once they had this recognition, they became more open to ideas around evolving the business and different ways to deliver their vision of a new target operating model.

The positive changes The GC Index® has brought to the team subsequently helped them to frame the wider Senior Leadership Team’s (SLT) development programme, which we were then asked to design and deliver. A key aspiration of the programme was to work more cohesively as senior leaders, rather than as two separate groups working to the same goals.

Come back soon for the second part of this short series where we delve into the wider work that we completed with the SLT. In the meantime, if you want to hear more about the GC Index and how it works, contact Saskia at saskia.clarke@the4oc.com.